Dare to be Fabulous

Alessandro is a gangster’s son – and as such he has an awful lot to live up to.  He desperately want to prove himself to his father, but despite being forbidden to do so, decides to rob a new night club in order to show that he can live up to what he believes are the family’s expectations of him.  However, when he and his accomplice get to the club, they discover that robbing its denizens might prove a more challenging prospect than they anticipated.  And Alessandro is for one great big surprise into the bargain.

There are tropes at work here - the desperate son seeking a father’s approval, the heist gone wrong, the double life - but they’re handled with such panache and confidence that the story feels fresh and full of heart. In fact, it plays with gender performance and expectation in ways that evoke Victor/Victoria, but with a contemporary pulse and cinematic finish that belies its student origins. It's sharply paced, beautifully designed, and emotionally satisfying. So, congratulations to all involved — especially the directors João Buosi, Yangjia Chen, Adam Meziane Philipps, Carla Sampaio da Silva, Xinxin Qin, and Zhen Zhou, student filmmakers from the renowned Gobelins school of visual communication and animation in Paris.

Watch Dare to be Fabulous below.